1. In working on the time based video project I became interested in the procession through space
over time. Specifically, in the sort of unfolding of space that happens as one moves through a
space or a building/structure/installation or a city. What makes a place memorable to me are
the interesting discoveries that you make along your path. I’d like to bring this into the second
project- ideas of paths unfolding/discovery through motion.
Video allows for a simulation of one of the multiple-possible experiences through a space,
capturing the actual motion which constantly changes perspectives. This type of representation
becomes useful in practice as well as in academic settings, making it easier to distill spaces to a
finer detail. There was an air of lightness of the work that I found interesting, and I agree that
video could and should be one of the tools that Architects draw on to convey their ideas.
Beyond just a representational tool, video work is equally capable of generating formal ideas
and relationships and becoming part of the design process; means, instead of just ends.
For example, in pursuing a more spatially analytical video, I picked up on a certain theme. The
natural scenes that we filmed had a sense of regulated and somewhat predictable rhythm. Of
course I know nature can be unexpected too (Michigan weather) but, there seemed to be a
soothing, regularness to the phenomena we filmed. Nature is arguably the exception to the rule,
the moment where society is free from capitalist mentality. The spaces where activity was
occurring (farmers market and main street) were more random in terms of rhythm of activity,
the people populating the activity make it so. Balancing this sort of different rhythms both part
of our everyday is something I’d like to investigate.
2. Domestic space: home, an escape from the grind, a center for entertaining (guests, oneself, a
family), a space to recharge, to relax. A place of one’s own, a container for collecting things, a
safe refuge, a reference point, a base, private but selectively public. Familiar through
personalization and or repetitive use. A place to reflect, to protect, to connect.
Domestic space should have a daily light pattern which follows natural sleep patterns. It should
be a flexible space to accommodate varying uses- dining room, gym, kitchen, bar, lounge,
gallery. Spaces are generally separated into two realms, those for man as an animal, and those
for man as an individual with interests and intelligence. Service spaces are the grounded spaces
where we bathe/use the toilet, prepare and eat food, sleep- our primal necessary functions we
need to carry out to survive. The rest is indicative of lifestyle, what is important to the dweller of
that space?
The proverbial center of a home, what used to be the hearth(by FLW opinion) or fireplace is now
a TV entertainment center. This virtual box is at once what connects us to the rest of the world
and what secludes us from it.
How do we make a domestic space more than just a collector of our stuff? The spaces should be
dynamic, according to their use. The path of light through the space should follow a daily
progression of activities within the domestic space. There should be flexible private/public
delineations. Not necessarily walls, imagine electromagnetic partitions that become opaque
when a current runs through them… or walls that are made entirely of fiberoptic cables which
serve a dual function and provide light for the space. A clear connection to the outside, not
necessarily distinct from what is inside, is imperative for a successful domestic space.
As our final destination in the day, and where we start the day from, domestic space should
offer a sense of wonder about the world, should reflect but also push culture forward, towards
what should be, a sustainable lifestyle which gives back whatever it takes in one form or
another, a technologically privy and capable space, of course with filters. It should be modest
and flexible, connected to the outside, a sort of threshold between our lives as human beings
(the animal) and as consumers/part of the workforce.